Mark

AMT knew they were on to something, as kids were customizing those early promo models. They took it a step further with the customizing kit, a '55 or '56 Thunderbird that included clay to do the "restyling". Molding the whole car in styrene (ditching the metal chassis, pot metal bumpers, and cellophane windows), adding an interior, plating the trim pieces, and adding a few optional parts got them the rest of the way there.

Just as I thought...a few items hit the shelf right after the Valentine's Day themed coupon expired. Kenworth mixer, 1/16 scale '57 Thunderbird, Falcon drag team, and Sandkat dragster. I grabbed one each of the latter two. Still wish they'd get some Duplicolor sprays in, though...

There's no real way of knowing if/when it will be reissued again. Each issue is produced in batches of a particular number (say 5,000 at a time). The last few hundred are where the profit is. If the most recent production run was slow to sell out, they would be reluctant to issue it again so soon afterwards. But only Round 2 has the info regarding sales of each item.

Yes, the GTX did have that hood. It, and the grille, were pretty much the differences between it and that year's Roadrunner kit.

That's a first issue kit, it doesn't have the cut line engraved on the underside of the hood for the supercharger option. The chassis screws may be in a subsequent issue or two, the separate taillight lenses went away in the mid-Seventies as did the "1965" on the bumpers. I'm not positive on the promo, but the kit always had bucket seats. It's not an SS though. El Caminos could be had with the bucket seats and (later) the 396 engine. But they weren't available as an SS until '68. The wagon and El Camino are different tooling from one another, though parts do interchange. The engines are a bit different here and there, as are the chassis. The little parts tree with the supercharger parts is the same, and floats back and forth between the two kits.

Those fake convertible tops look even better with a sunroof. I have seen a couple of them...

The really dumb thing about the under-the-bed spare is that cable holding it up, with the little metal piece that goes through the center of the wheel being crimped on. There ought to be a swing-down cradle underneath the tire.

If you do some digging, one of the previous issue kits should turn up at about the price of the average currently available car kit.

The Imperial chassis and inner body were pretty much the same 1957-1966. SMP made the kits through '61 but none had an engine. The '62 (a handful of convertible kits came in SMP boxes, but the vast majority were AMT) did have an engine. The same engine and chassis were used with some minor changes through '66, then in the Hero/Western Pickup version. If you could find one of those with a damaged or missing body, those parts would work. You would not want the Revell '62 Imperial (or a possible Atlantis reissue of same) as it has incorrect Unibody detail (and maybe even a manual transmission, I'm not 100% certain on that though).

I've never seen a single engine with two crank-driven blowers, but there was a dragster with two engines (inline, not side-by-side) with a single blower.

I'd bet that, wherever they are now, at least a couple of them still have those window stickers in place...

That sectioning job looks great, it reminds me of that 1:1 early Fifties Oldsmobile that Valley Custom built. Regarding the sprue filler: I was big into that stuff and did use it properly (not winding up with warpage due to its shrinking while setting) but have since moved on to epoxy putty. Pick a good one (white Milliput ain't bad) and apply it properly, and it's great. It's the closest thing to the styrene itself when it comes to trying to scratch in panel lines, which is one part of these jobs that I don't look forward to.

The "for '68" box might show a stock-looking version, but it's closer to a '67 than a '68. That kit did have stock bumpers, as well as stock ('67) rally wheels and taillights. The grille was the '67 piece with a bar added going across. The interior pattern is not stock either. In fact, that Camaro kit was issued later as a custom Firebird with a lot of parts changed, but the interior was the same as the Camaro's custom unit.

Have they been using those in their undersize truck engines? If so, it's probably a factor in the F-series not being the best-selling vehicle after close to 40 years...

Those were the same as in the Badman. The Monogram '55 never had red lenses for any of the taillights included, stock or custom.

The '40 has a sectioned hood, but the body actually appears to be channeled (floor raised within the body) with the fenders then being installed higher up on the body. The running boards are eliminated also. I'd go the same route with the '36: channel the body (don't take a horizontal section out of it to reduce its height, but rather raise the floor which will lower the entire body). Then install the fenders in their original position relative to the frame, lose the running boards, then section the hood side panels and grille to tie it all together.

Stirred, not shaken...

Here's the semi-scratchbuilt rail frame midget built following the Joe Henning R&C articles. Balsa body/frame and seat, slot car tires, other parts from parts box including rear suspension from Revell parts pack (currently available via Atlantis). Front axle is a narrowed AMT altered wheelbase Nova piece. Louvers are from old Jo-Han customizing kits. Windscreen is two pieces of clear cellophane tape, pressed sticky sides together. I think the exhaust is formed from wire, with a small straw serving as the long pipe. I built this about forty years ago, so I don't recall all of the details. Wood is sealed with lacquer "dope", paint is Testors red enamel. The body lacks panel lines. I didn't want to paint them on, and lacking experience in working with balsa I couldn't cut them in to my satisfaction. The finish is holding up (dope hasn't lifted anywhere) but the newer epoxy finishing material for R/C airplanes is the way to go now. This is one of those things I'd like to take another swing at. This time the frame would be separate (and made of plastic), I'd find more suitable tires, and it might even have an engine. V8-60, Offy, maybe a scratchbuilt outboard or cycle engine?

I'm not sure which articles are in which magazine, but Joe Henning did a ton of articles for Rod & Custom (and possibly their short-lived model magazine) in the mid-Sixties. Among them was a 1/25 scale "champ car" made from a cut down Monogram Kurtis midget. Other articles include a Twenties Model T based sprinter with a tail section made from an AMT Double Dragster streamliner nose, a dirt modified with a chassis made from insulated electrical wire and a PAPER body, and a model of the 1911 Indy winning Marmon Wasp, body again made of paper. He also did a few carved balsa models, including an early Sixties Indy car (before AMT made their Watson/Parnell Jones kit) and a pre-war rail frame midget. Those magazines are still worth looking for if you are into these cars. My older brother was big into midget racers (he restored the Kurtis/Shilala car pictured in my earlier post; it crossed the auction block at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale last month) which got me interested too. I scratched a pre-war midget based on Henning's article. I'll pull it out of the display cabinet and throw a picture or two on later.

That Ace kit looks sort of like a Kurtis, but appears to have exposed frame rails instead of a round tubing frame concealed inside the body. One of Monogram's earliest car kits was the Mid-Jet, with a one-piece partially shaped wooden body. That kit had provisions for it to be powered by a CO2 cartridge (those were available as cheap "war surplus" items back then). I never put a ruler to the Atlantis midget (the former Monogram PC-1, Monogram's first plastic car kit) but I thought it was around 1/18 scale. The AMT 1/25 scale parts pack Hot Rod chassis is nearly the right size to fit the midget body (it's a bit too wide unfortunately). But it has working torsion bar suspension detail that is very similar to that of some Kurtis cars and their derivatives (Kurtis sold the design to concentrate on building Indy cars). The midgets could be built with any combination of torsion bar and crosswise leaf spring suspension, front and rear.

If there were any in resin, you might try searching "Etzel's Speed Classics". They did a lot of historic Indy cars, they may have done a midget or two also as many of the best Indy drivers of that era got their start in midgets.

Those are pretty much it. There was a 1/32 scale slot car from Strombecker, but I don’t think that one was issued as a shelf (non-powered) version. Other than that, there were a few wood kits in the late Forties that aren't replicas of any specific design (and are hard to find now).

I wonder if the molded styrene windows weren't added to the original issue Ranchero at some point. I've disassembled an early one (plastic tires) and it had molded windows.

There is one other issue with the multiple-piece body Ranchero. The doors are too short, owing to its origins in the Country Squire four-door wagon kit. The kit's doors are the length of four-door front doors whereas the 1:1 Ranchero doors are the same length as two-door sedan doors. Other than that, it's actually quite nice, even the places where the separate panels join are well thought out.

So many jokes, so little time...